• • Reign: 642-645 (Kōgyoku) 655-661 (Saimei)
  • Period: Asuka Period
  • Family: Emperor Jomei (husband) Prince Naka (son) Emperor Kotoku (brother)
  • Burial Place: –
  • Order of Succession:
    • 1st Reign Predecessor Emperor Jomei * Successor Emperor Kōtoku
    • 2nd Reign Predecessor Emperor Kōtoku * Sucessor Emperor Tenji

Empress Kōgyoku

Empress Kōgyoku (皇極天皇) was the thirty-fifth Emperor of Japan. She was the wife of Emperor Jomei and mother to Prince Naka who would later become Emperor Tenji.¹² She would rule again as the Empress Saimei (斉明天皇) and be the thirty-seventh Emperor of Japan.¹

Prior to her Reign

Before her reign began she held a reputation for being a Shaman and as such communicated with kami. She was not politically active prior to her rule.²

Her son Prince Naka should have come to the throne instead of Kōgyoku, however Soga no Emishi and his son Soga no Iruka placed instead Kōgyoku on the throne.

Reign as Kōgyoku

She came to the throne aged 49² and during her reign, hatred for the Soga Clan reached it’s peak leading to a coup d`etat ending with Iruka being killed in front of the Empress. This in turn led to the subsequent destruction of the Soga House and Clan.¹

After this due to pressure from political figures she abdicated for her brother Emperor Kōtoku.²

Reign as Saimei

The Empress came back to rule aged 60 from 655-661, renaming herself as Saimei to ‘alleviate tension’ created during her brother’s reigns, and to ensure her son; Crown Prince Naka could succeed. He appears to have been the one to hold power during her second reign and she was more a political puppet.²

Between the years of 658 and 660 Abe no Hirafu was sent north three times to subdue the Ezo People.³

She joins the Crown Prince on an expedition to aid the leader of Paekche (Korea) who requested help to fight against Silla. During this she fell ill and died on active service in Chikuzen Province aged 67.²

Footnotes

1. Martin, P. (1997) ”The Chrysanthemum Throne”. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited.
2. Tsurumi, P. (1981) “Early Female Emperors” Historical Reflections Vol.8 No.1 pp.41-49.
3. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.

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Emperor Jomei

Emperor Jomei (舒明天皇) was the thirty-fourth Emperor of Japan. He was the grandson of the Emperor Bidatsu¹ and husband of Empress Kōgyoku.¹²

This Emperor was placed on the throne by Soga no Emishi after Emishi ignored the supposed heir to the throne; the son of Shotoku Taisha. He made the Emperor his puppet throughout his reign.¹

Footnotes

1. Martin, P. (1997) ”The Chrysanthemum Throne”. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited.
2. Tsurumi, P. (1981) “Early Female Emperors” Historical Reflections Vol.8 No.1 pp.41-49.

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• Period: Asuka Period
• Occupation: Naidaijin
• Family: Fujiwara no Fubito (son) Fujiwara no Higami no Iratsume (daughter) Fujiwara no Ioe no Iratsume (daughter)
• Birth: 614
• Death: 669

Nakatomi no Kamatari

Nakatomi no Kamatari (中臣 鎌足) was a member of the Nakatomi Clan and later founder of the Fujiwara Clan.

Kamatari lived from 614-669AD¹² and was the father of Fujiwara no Fubito.²

During his life Kamatari was the leader of Shinto Rituals (jinji no haku) though it was during this time that Buddhism was growing in popularity at court.¹

In 552, the Nakatomi and Mononobe fought unsuccesfully to stop Buddhism being introduced, the Soga winning out who favored Buddhism.²

By now the Soga Clan had grow vastly in power and so Prince Naka no Ōe enlisted the help of Kamatari to try and destory the Soga Clan. This led to a coup in 645 where Soga no Iruka was killed and Soga no Emishi committed suicide.

From this Empress Kōgyoku was forced to abdicate for her younger brother Karu.¹²

Legends say the plan to eradicate the Soga were made in a wisteria arbor (fujiwara).

After this Emperor Kōtoku designated Naka no Ōe as his heir and made Kamatari Inner Minister (uchi-tsuomo), a position later called Naidaijin from 669. Due to this Kamatari was the first to hold the position of Naidaijin (Minister of Domestic Affairs).

Kamatari launched a program of reforms with Naka no Ōe in 645 called the Taika Reforms to reinforce Imperial Authority.²

Later the Emperor Tenji allowed him to change his family name to Fujiwara. Kamatari’s nephew Nakatomi no Omimaro therefore kept the Nakatomi Clan name going.¹

Footnotes

1. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
2. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.

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Soga no Iruka

Soga no Iruka (蘇我 入鹿) was a member of the Soga Clan and alongside his father Soga no Emishi the two of them were very much in control of the political court. They were so powerful they placed Empress Kōgyoku on the throne.

However, in a later coup d`etat by Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka, Iruka was killed in front of the Empress leading to the end of the Soga Clan after his father killed himself.¹

Footnotes

1. Martin, P. (1997) ”The Chrysanthemum Throne”. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited.

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Soga no Emishi

Soga no Emishi (蘇我 蝦夷) was a powerful leader of the Soga Clan. Such was his political power he placed on the throne the Emperor Jomei making the Emperor a puppet of his throughout his reign.

However, by the reign of Empress Kogyoku (whom he and his son Soga no Iruka had also placed on the throne) the Soga Clans power had led to a severe hatred towards their Clan. And so, in a coup d`etat, his son Iruka is killed in front of the Empress. After his son’s death Emishi, whilst inside his home, burnt it to the ground killing himself and all his attendants, thus ending the Soga Clan.¹

This fire was likely the fire which mostly destroyed the Kujiki which has been entrusted to their house.²

Footnotes

1. Martin, P. (1997) ”The Chrysanthemum Throne”. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited.
2. Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.

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Soga Clan

The Soga Clan (蘇我氏) was a very powerful clan in ancient Japan, orchestrating the placing of several rulers on the Imperial Throne.

Legendary Founding

The kojiki lists a son of Takeuchi no Sukune, a member of the Imperial Family, by the name of Soga no Ishikawa as the ancestor of the ‘Soga no Omi’ (Soga Clan).³⁴

400-600AD

Branching off from the Imperial line they came to political power during the reign of Emperor Buretsu (498-507AD) possibly by agreeing to a political bargain. By the reign of Emperor Senka (536-539AD) they had gained an influential hereditary place at court, as quartermasters and treasurers. Prior to Senka’s reign, the Emperor both ruled as well as reigned. However, during his reign, he established Iname Soga as his executive first Minister.

During the reign of Emperor Kinmei (539-71AD) Buddhism made its first appearance in the country. Kimmei asked Iname to try it out, but it led to a setback for Buddhism as a pestilence ensued in the country.

By the reign of Emperor Bidatsu (572-85AD) court power struggles began with the Soga Clan as more scripture, images, priests and nuns arrive from Korea.

Emperor Sushun (587-92AD) was placed on the throne by Soga no Umako, after a skirmish with the Mononobe Clan.¹

600AD to Destruction

The subsequent Empress Suiko (593-628AD) was also placed on the throne by Umako. She, however, placed her nephew Crown Prince Shotoku Taisha who overshadowed Soga Clan power for the rest of Taisha’s life.¹

In 620AD the kujiki text was compiled and entrusted to the Soga Clan.²

The subsequent Emperor Jomei (629-41AD) also found himself placed on the throne by Soga no Emishi with Emishi and his son Soga no Iruka placing the next Empress Kogyoku (642-45AD) on the throne.

It was during Kougyoku’s reign the Clan finally was destroyed after Iruka is killed in a coup d`etat in front of the Empress. Emishi, later in his home, burnt it to the ground killing himself and all his attendants.¹

This fire led to a large part of the kujiki being destroyed. Part of it survived, now called the kokuki (National Annals). Though whether this is part of the original document we don’t know.²

After their destruction

The Soga Clan does live on, however, in a very weakened capacity. A female Soga is known to later have been taken as a wife of Emperor Tenmu.¹

Members of the House

• • Soga no Emishi
  • Soga no Ishikawa
  • Soga no Iname
  • Soga no Iruka
  • Soga no Umako

Footnotes

1. Martin, P. (1997) “The Chrysanthemum Throne” Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited.
2. Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
3. Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
4. Chamberlain, B. H. (1932) “Translation of the Kojiki.” Kobe: J.L. Thompson & Co.

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